Seating structure

ABSTRACT

A seating structure comprises a wrap around cross bar at seat level supported on pillars which are secured to a floor-level cross-beam fixed to rails on the floor of an aircraft. Side struts extend diagonally upwards connecting the sides of the cross bar with the rear ends of the wrap-around beam. A rear leg secured to the rails by a foot is connected to a rigid bifurcated lever at seat level, the lever being secured to the wrap-around beam. The spaces on either side of the leg such as might be caused by vertical rear side legs. In use, the upholstery is supported on webbing above the structure and back rests and arms are provided. The structure is designed to with stand loads in all three dimensions with minimum weight and minimum obstruction to the feet of passengers seated behind.

United States Patent Reason et a1.

[451 Apr.4,1972

[54] SEATING STRUCTURE [72] Inventors: Dennis Joseph Reason; LeslieJames 3,316,013 4/1967 Abel et al.. 297/232 X 2,783,821 3/1957Sherman.... .....297/375 3,037,812 6/1962 Monroe ..297/355 2,959,20711/1960 Brewster.... ..297/216 3,075,736 l/l963 Freedman ..248/430 X3,145,051 8/1964 Rausch ..297/216 3,329,463 7/1967 Zimmerman ....297/2432,139,071 12/1938 Eichel ..248/424 X Primary Examiner-Francis K. ZugelAttorney-Holcombe, Wetherill & Brisebois [5 7] ABSTRACT A seatingstructure comprises a wrap around cross bar at seat level supported onpillars which are secured to a floor-level cross-beam fixed to rails onthe floor of an aircraft. Side struts extend diagonally upwardsconnecting the sides of the cross bar with the rear ends of thewrap-around beam. A rear leg secured to the rails by a foot is connectedto a rigid bifurcated lever at seat level, the lever being secured tothe wrap-around beam. The spaces on either side of the leg such as mightbe caused by vertical rear side legs. in use, the upholstery issupported on webbing above the structure and back rests and arms areprovided. The structure is designed to with stand loads in all threedimensions with minimum weight and minimum obstruction to the feet ofpassengers seated behind.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 4 I972 SHEET 5 [1F 5 SEATINGSTRUCTURE This invention relates to a seating structure. The inventionis particularly concerned with a seating structure for an aircraft, andis described herein as applied to an aircraft. However, the invention isalso applicable to seating structures for other vehicles, such as landvehicles, water vehicles and air cushion vehicles, where passengers areseated both side by side and one behind the other.

In an aircraft, passengers are often seated in multiple seats (that isto say a structure having two or sometimes more seats side by side)which are disposed in rows extending fore and aft of the aircraft. Spaceis limited, and space is provided under the seats as leg room, and oftenalso to accommodate hand luggage. The weight of the structure must beminimised. The structure must not only withstand the weight of apassenger, but also must absorb horizontal and vertical loads, andcombinations thereof, in the event of an emergency landing or crash.These considerations conflict, and cause particular problems in design.

The seating structure could include side legs capable of attachment tothe floor and extending generally vertically upwards, with the seatsprojecting at least partly forward of the legs, but the fixing positionson the floor (usually rails extending fore and aft) are not usually inthe optimum positions from the points of view either of strength of theseating structure or convenience to the passengers.

The seating structure could consist of a cantilever structure with legsfixed to a cross member at the forward edge of the structure and theseat projecting backwards from the legs. This might improve leg room,but at the expense of weight, or strength of the structure.

The present invention provides a seating structure for multiple seats ina vehicle, comprising a cross member at or adjacent the front of theseating structure, two side arms rigidly secured to and extendingrearwards from said cross member at or adjacent the sides of the seatingstructure, at least one load bearing member connected to said crossmember and extending generally beneath said cross member, a fixingmember for fixing to a floor in the vehicle extending crosswise of theseating structure rearwards of said load bearing member, and connectingmeans for connecting said fixing member to said cross member andincluding a connecting member extending upwards from said fixing memberintermediate the sides of the seating structure, so that spaces openingout to the sides of the seating structure on each side of saidconnecting member are free from obstruction caused by members projectingsubstantial heights from points at floor level rearward of said loadbearing member.

The terms front and rear are used herein with reference to the directiona passenger faces when seated normally in one of the seats.

The preferred embodiment is a structure designed so that the seatedpassenger faces forward, but the invention comprehends an aft-facingseat, at least in its broader aspects.

The preferred embodiment has back and arm rests fixed to it, and willnormally be upholstered, in use.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example,with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrammatic perspective views of part of the skeletonstructure of a double seat for an aircraft, in accordance with theinvention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrammatic perspective views of the skeletonstructure with back and arm rests attached; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic perspective views of the complete doubleseat.

Referring first to FIG. I, the seat structure is to be fixed to rails 10on the floor of an aircraft. The exact position of such rails inaircraft is not standardised, and by way of example it is assumed thatthe positions of the rails require the seat structure to be positionedasymmetrically over the rails.

The structure comprises a front cross beam 12 which can be fixed to therails 10 by fittings (not shown) which permit some adjustment of theposition of the bar sideways of the rails, but which can be locked toresist upwards and sideways loading. The beam 12 is stiff againstbending moments.

Pillars l4 and 16 extend generally vertically upwards from, and arerigidly secured at their lower ends to the beam 12. The pillars areflanged to give increased stiffness, and apertured to reduce weight. Theother end of the pillars 14 and 16 are connected to an upper cross-bar18, which is bent to provide side arms 20 and 22 projecting rearwardlyfrom the cross-bar 18. The crossbar 18 and side arms 20 and 22 areformed from a channel section member. Struts 24 and 26 are secured atrespective ends of a fixing member in the form of a cross-bar l2, andextend upwards and rearwards, being secured to the free ends of the sideanns 20 and 22 adjacent the upper ends of the struts.

A bifurcated lever 28 has its two limbs secured respectively to thepillars 14 and 16, and hence to the cross-bar l8, and extends rearwardlywith the junction 30 between the two limbs disposed centrally at therear of the structure. A rigid central leg 32 connects the junction 30to a fixing member in the form of a foot 34, the leg 32 extendingupwardly and forwardly from, and being rigidly secured to, the foot 34.The foot 34 comprises a cross-bar of minimal height consistent with itsrequired strength, and chamfered so as to present a minimum obstructionto the feet of a passenger behind. In this embodiment, the length of thefoot 34 on each side of the leg 32 is just sufficient to reach the rails10, but obviously the foot could be of greater length to accommodatedifferent rail positions. The foot 34 is attached to the rails 10 byfittings which resist upwards, forwards and sideways loading. A tie 36connects the foot 34 with the cross-bar 12.

Bars 60 and 62 have their rear ends mounted on the struts 24 and 26, andtheir front ends connected to the cross-bar 18 by lugs 64 and 66. Acentral bar 68 is connected between the junction 30 and the cross-bar18. The bars 60, 62 and 68 extend fore and aft, above the level of thecross-bar l8 and sidearms 20 and 22, and in the complete seat, supportwebbing, indicated schematically at 70, which extends cross-wise of theseat.

Ties 72 and 74 are connected diagonally across the structure between thecross-bar 12 and the cross-bar 18, to brace the structure againstsideways loads.

Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, arm rests 76, 78 and areconnected at the sides of the structure, and in the centre of thestructure between the two seats. The side arm rests 76 and 80 areattached to the bars 60 and 62 and to the side arms 20 and 22. Thecentral arm rest 78 is connected to the junction 30.

Hinge points 38, 40 and 42 are provided integrally with the upper endsof the struts 24 and 26, and with the junction 30 respectively. Backrests 44 and 46 are mounted on the hinge points 38, 40 and 42, in use,as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Seat belt attachments (not shown) can also besecured to the structure by the hinge points 38, 40 and 42. The usualhydraulic latches 48 and 50 may be provided to control the positions ofthe back rests. Preferably, and as shown, each of the back rests 44 and46 comprises a panel which is shaped to present a concave surface to theback of the passenger, and has two major flat faces 52 and 54intersected along a line disposed in a vertical plane, and two minorfiat faces 56 and 58 extending perpendicular to the vertical plane, andat an angle to the intersection line of the faces 52 and 54.

One possible arrangement of the complete seat is indicateddiagrammatically in FIGS. 5 and 6, purely by way of example. It will beseen that padded upholstery has been provided on the webbing 70, and theback rests 44 and 46. A decorative panel 82 conceals the skeletonstructure at the front of the seat. The usual passenger amenities areprovided, including ash trays 84 and 86, recline controls (not shown),and folding tables 88 and 90.

The skeleton structure of the seat has been carefully designed to takeaccount of the various loads which might be encountered by the seat. Theloads fall into three main categories, firstly, vertical loads caused byone or more passengers sitting on the structure both in normal use, andin the event of a crash or emergency landing, secondly horizontal foreand aft loads such as would be caused by sharp deceleration of theaircraft on emergency landing or crashing, and thirdly sideways loads,again such as might be produced during a crash or emergency landing, ofthe aircraft.

Vertical loads are borne principally by the pillars 14 and 16 and leg32. The vertical load on the bars 60 and 62 is taken at their rearwardends by the struts 24 and 26, which are prevented from pivoting relativeto the crossbar 12 by the side arms 20 and 22. Vertical loads on thecentral bar 68 are borne at its rearward end by the lever 28, partly bycantilever action from the pillars 14 and 16, but mainly by the leg 32acting as a strut.

The structure is anchored against forward loading by the foot 34.Accordingly, during forward loading of the structure, the upper parts ofthe structure tend to move forward over the bar 12 and foot 34. The leg32, acting as a tie now, restrains rotation of the lever 28, so as toprevent twisting of the structure about the bar 12. The tie 36 preventsforward movement of the bar 12 relative to the foot 34. Rotation of theside arms 20 and 22 relative to the pillars 14 and 16 is prevented bythe struts 24 and 26 which co-operate with the side arms 20 and 22 tobear a part of the forward load.

The ties 72 and 74 brace the pillars 14 and 16 against sideways loading,and the bifurcated form of the lever 28 ensures that this lever can alsobear sideways load.

One important feature of the structure is that spaces give out to theside of the structure on each side of the leg 32, and these spaces arefree from obstruction caused by members projecting substantial heightsfrom points at floor level rearward of the pillars 14 and 16. The foot34 is in these spaces, but has a minimal height above floor level sothat it does not present a significant obstruction to the foot of apassenger behind. The struts 24 and 26 limit the free space but aredisposed at the side of the structure, and project from points at floorlevel beside the members 14 and 16, and not rearward of them.Accordingly, not only is ample leg room provided for a passenger seatedbehind, but also his movement into and out of his seat is facilitated.In this connection, if legs projected generally vertically upwards fromthe rails 10, other than at the front of the seat, the leg room of thepassenger might be reduced (depending upon the positions of the railsbut in any case his movement into and out of his seat would beobstructed.

Moreover, these spaces provide ample room for hand luggage. It will benoted that the pillars l4 and 16 and ties 72 and 74 provide restraintagainst the hand luggage being thrown forward in the event of a crash,and such restraint is improved if decorative panels such as 82 areadded.

It will be seen that the structure includes a frame at the front (formedprincipally by the pillars 14 and 16, the cross bar 18 and cross beam12) which is rigid against sideways shear loads, and against verticalloads, the bottom of the frame being fixed against forward loads (by thefoot 34 and tie 36) and which is prevented from rotation on forwardloading, and from twisting on sideways loading or asymmetric forwardloading, by the rearwardly extending lever 28 connected to the floor (byleg 32) and foot 34.

It will be appreciated that many modifications to and variations of thepreferred embodiment shown are possible. For example, the structureshown is for a forward facing seat. It is possible to adapt thestructure to an aft facing seat, although it will be appreciated thatdifferent loads will have to be borne. Also, the seat shown is a doubleseat; the principles of the invention are applicable to a triple seat,and in this case it may prove expedient to provide two legs such as 32intermediate the sides of the seating structure, rather than a singleone as for the double seat. Moreover more than one tie such as 36 ma beproyided between the anchorages.

he seating structure can obviously be adapted for use in vehicles otherthan aircraft. It may be that a simplified structure will sufiice forsuch other vehicles, where design restrictions are not usually sostringent. The cost of the seat could then be somewhat reduced.

The leg room on either side of the leg 32 is particularly attractive forvehicles where passengers are seated one behind the other, especiallysince the only hard member extending transversely of the seatingstructure behind the front edge of the seat below the level of the backrest is the lever 28, whose two limbs extend diagonally across thestructure from outer points at the front to a central point at thejunction 30 at the rear of the structure, so as to minimise the risk ofa passenger behind hurting his knees.

We claim:

1. A seating structure for multiple seats in a vehicle, comprising awrap-around front member having a central portion extending cross-wiseof and in the vicinity of the front of the seating structure andintegral with two side arms extending rearwards from said centralportion in the vicinity of the sides of the seating structure; loadbearing means connected to and directly supporting said central portionof said front member and extending generally beneath said front member;a fixing member for fixing said structure to a floor in the vehicle,said fixing member extending cross-wise of the seating structurerearwards of said load bearing means; connecting means positionedbetween said fixing member and said central portion of said frontmember, said connecting means including a lever connected rigidly tosaid load bearing means in the vicinity of said central portion of saidfront member and projecting rearwardly therefrom and a connecting memberfor connecting said fixing member to the rear end of said lever andextending upwards from said fixing member intermediate the sides of theseating structure, so that spaces opening out to the sides of theseating structure on each side of said connecting member are free fromobstruction caused by members projecting substantially upward frompoints at floor level rearward of said load bearing means; a furtherfixing member for fixing said structure to the floor, said furtherfixing member extending crosswise of the structure and being joined tosaid load bearing member, and struts connecting said further fixingmember to rearward portions of said side arms.

2. A seating structure as claimed in claim 1 and including at least onetie connecting said fixing members.

3. A seating structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upper ends ofsaid struts have formations suitable for connection to back restmembers, and to seat belt anchorages.

4. A seating structure as claimed in claim 1 and including a formationfor connection to a back rest member adjacent the upper end of saidconnection member.

5. A seating structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said levercomprises a bifurcated member connected to spaced points on said frontmember.

6. A seating structure as claimed in claim 1 and including membersextending diagonally across the structure generally beneath said frommember for bracing said load bearing member against sideways load on thestructure.

1. A seating structure for multiple seats in a vehicle, comprising awrap-around front member having a central portion extending cross-wiseof and in the vicinity of the front of the seating structure andintegral with two side arms extending rearwards from said centralportion in the vicinity of the sides of the seating structure; loadbearing means connected to and directly supporting said central portionof said front member and extending generally beneath said front member;a fixing member for fixing said structure to a floor in the vehicle,said fixing member extending cross-wise of the seating structurerearwards of said load bearing means; connecting means positionedbetween said fixing member and said central portion of said frontmember, said connecting means including a lever connected rigidly tosaid load bearing means in the vicinity of said central portion of saidfront member and projecting rearwardly therefrom and a connecting memberfor connecting said fixing member to the rear end of said lever andextending upwards from sAid fixing member intermediate the sides of theseating structure, so that spaces opening out to the sides of theseating structure on each side of said connecting member are free fromobstruction caused by members projecting substantially upward frompoints at floor level rearward of said load bearing means; a furtherfixing member for fixing said structure to the floor, said furtherfixing member extending crosswise of the structure and being joined tosaid load bearing member, and struts connecting said further fixingmember to rearward portions of said side arms.
 2. A seating structure asclaimed in claim 1 and including at least one tie connecting said fixingmembers.
 3. A seating structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upperends of said struts have formations suitable for connection to back restmembers, and to seat belt anchorages.
 4. A seating structure as claimedin claim 1 and including a formation for connection to a back restmember adjacent the upper end of said connection member.
 5. A seatingstructure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lever comprises abifurcated member connected to spaced points on said front member.
 6. Aseating structure as claimed in claim 1 and including members extendingdiagonally across the structure generally beneath said front member forbracing said load bearing member against sideways load on the structure.